Princess Tutu: The After Tale
by LostBionicChild
Summary: Fakir begins to write a new story... But something happens and he suddenly disappears. As more things start to happen around the town once more, Ahiru, the small duckling must once again become Princess Tutu.
1. Once again a time

_**Once upon a time, a Prince and Princess lived happily ever after.**_

* * *

"_And so she took it between her delicate fingers, staring at it curiously. It was soft, fine, and with every little movement her fingers made, the object tickled her palm-and..."_

"_-_This is useless!" The paper was crumpled, and thrown on the floor.

Fakir leaned back in his chair and started to rub his temples. It was very late at night now. He had been writing the whole evening almost non-stop, and now, he has finally hit a halt.

"This just won't do... This isn't going to help her." Fakir said in a low whisper to himself. "I'm still not strong enough... and my writing... it's-" He holds his head in his hands and tries to regain himself.

He looks up again, and walks to the window beside the door.

"It'll be sunrise soon, I should rest for now. I won't be able to accomplish anything in this state anyway."

And just as the dark-haired youth moves to close the curtains, he suddenly hears a strange howl pass through the small house, almost as if the wind itself were shuffling through its corridors.

Slightly alarmed, he walks towards the hallway. He goes and investigates the other rooms, but finds nothing out of the ordinary. Sighing, he walks back to his work room.

As he enters it, for a brief moment Fakir's face contorted into one of shock, and another much louder howl can be heard reverberating throughout the house.

And as quickly as it came, it disappeared just as fast, leaving behind a house much too quiet... and empty.

* * *

"_QUACK!"_

In a small pond, just out in the nearby forest, swam a small yellow duck. Minding its own business and just swimming around under the warm, late summer sun, the duck known as Ahiru, was bored.

"Quack!" '_I wonder when Fakir is coming to visit again, it's been a while since he last came. He's been coming here everyday since summer began._' A sigh. '_Then again, summer is almost over... Maybe he's busy preparing for school?_'

Just the thought of school suddenly reminded the small duck of all the times she spent in school as a human girl. It wasn't a very long stay, but she enjoyed every moment of it. The ballet classes, all the people she met, the friends she made, the tears, the laughter, everything. She truly did miss it. Heck, she even missed all the marriage threats that Mr. Cat constantly gave her and her fellow classmates.

"Quack..." Another sigh. While it was fun, there was no point in thinking about such things now. She was a duck, and life was content. Everyone moved on, and so should she. It doesn't however help how she feels and she finds herself wondering if there was perhaps someone who misses her as the girl, Ahiru.

"QUACK!" '_Argh! Here I am thinking such things again!_' "Quack! Qua-Quack!" '_When is Fakir coming over again!_'

And just as she thought it, she suddenly spied a young man with dark hair walking through the forest towards the clearing that is her pond.

Excited, she quickly swims to the edge of the small pool and hops out of the water to greet her supposed visitor. The excitement however was short-lived as the figure stepped forward into the view of the small duck.

Before her, stood none other than Autor; The music student who taught Fakir about his powers and his connection to Drosselmeyer.

While she had nothing against Autor, she just really doesn't know him well enough. She never quite got the chance to talk to him or to even make friends, and among the few times they've ever interacted, she remembers it being quite the disagreement in relation to what Autor was making Fakir do.

However, even if they were friends, Ahiru couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the one who had come today was not who she was expecting.

"Hello there, tiny little duckling." The bespectacled boy beckons to her.

"Quack?" Certainly she knew of him, but to her surprise, she really wasn't quite sure that Autor knew of her. Or at least, knew how she looked like as a duck or even where to find her.

Shaking her head she decides she's just another duck to the temperamental music student. She then waddles back to the water and pretends to be just that.

"Ahiru."

She stops. '_What?_'

"You are Ahiru, aren't you? I know Fakir has been visiting this pond everyday. It doesn't take a genius to figure why he does." He spoke as he pushes his glasses slightly higher atop the bridge of his nose.

She just gapes at him with her lower beak just hanging there, her whole face a picture of surprise.

"I'll take that as yes. Anyway, listen Ahiru, I do not like beating around the bush, so I'll be straight to the point and tell you why I have come." He kneels down on one knee at the edge of the pond, looking directly at Ahiru.

"Fakir has gone missing."

* * *

'_M-missing! H-how could he be missing! Where did he go! Where is he? Is he alright! Could he be hurt! I have to find him! Where could he be!_'

"Quack! Qua-Quack! Quack quack! Quuuaaack! Quack!"

As the little yellow duck continues to panic and splash about in the tiny pond, Autor couldn't help but feel a vein pulsing at his forehead at the irritating noise the duck is making.

"Calm down already! This is no time to panic!"

"QUA-Quack?"

"While I cannot understand what you are saying, I'm pretty sure you're quite baffled by this new information. Seeing as that is so, I guess I was wrong in assuming you might know about his whereabouts." He concludes a little dejectedly.

'_Fakir..._' Ahiru stops and settles down. She looks down, then with a sudden burst of confidence, she jumps out of the water and stops short in front of Autor.

"QUACK!" '_Take me to where you last saw Fakir!_'

* * *

Surprisingly, despite the 'language barrier', the two somehow made it to the place. It took a lot of charades and such, but finally, here they are at the place Fakir always goes to at night to write. It is the same place where he had written the finale of the Prince's tale and that of Princess Tutu. It was the old house of Drosselmeyer himself.

Autor, with Ahiru in his arm, opens the door and walks in to the small work area. Putting Ahiru down on the table, he goes to a small chest beside it, opens it and starts looking through it.

Ahiru, now with a good view of the room, starts to observe. Everything seemed normal. It certainly didn't look much different from the last time she had seen it, as long ago as that was, but still, everything still seemed to be in order. Sure there were a few scraps of paper lying here and there which weren't there before, but this is certainly nothing of great notice.

Suddenly, Autor pulls something out of the small chest and throws it onto the table beside Ahiru.

"QUACK!"

"Look at this. Do you know what it is?" Autor asks her, a serious look set upon his features.

Looking down, Ahiru waddles closer and looks at it. It was a pile of blank sheets of paper. She quickly looks back up at Autor, not quite understanding.

"These are what are supposed to be Fakir's manuscripts of the stories he wrote."

'_Manuscripts? But these are blank and have nothing written on it!_' "Quack?" She gives him a questioning look.

"Fakir kept all his manuscripts and such in this box. And yet now, all of it are nothing but blank pages." He crouches down and picks up one of the crumpled pieces of paper. "He worked here every night trying to hone his skills better. Not everything he wrote he liked... those are what are now scattered and forgotten on the floor."

Ahiru looks around and spies all the balls of crumpled paper on the floor, finally giving them a second thought.

"He wrote something, didn't like it, crumpled them and then threw them on the floor. But even these-" Autor takes the crinkled paper between his fingers and spreads it out and shows them to Ahiru. "They are also now gone." And he lays this too on the desk atop the pile of papers.

"Quack! Qu-Quack!" '_So the only things missing are Fakir and the words he wrote!_' She made various movements signaling that she doesn't understand.

"I am as lost as you are on this. But, if I were to guess, I have a feeling this may be the doing of Drosselmeyer." He pushes his glasses up again.

'_But then... That means...!_' Ahiru gasps.

"The story may yet again begin."

* * *

_Squaw!_

"Hm?"

"Huh? What's the matter, Lilie?"

The blonde girl continues looking up towards the top of the buildings, and her pink-haired friend, Pike, can't help but follow her gaze. A top, flying over the houses of their quaint town, was a flock of ravens. While it unsettled Pike, her friend on the other hand cracked a smile and murmured...

"...Beautiful."

* * *

The little duck, Ahiru paces around the shelves and desks that make up Fakir's workspace, trying to find some sort of clue if there were even any to begin with. She eyed the duck-feather pen that fakir uses as his quill.

'_Where could Fakir have disappeared to? Could it really be connected to Drosselmeyer again?_'

Off to the side of the room, looking out the window, stood Autor. "Something strange is going on outside."

Ahiru, looking in the direction of Autor; through the window, she notices what looks like a fast moving black cloud coming towards the small house.

Before the two could react however, all of a sudden, a strong gust of wind blows all the windows and doors wide open and suddenly they find ravens flying into the house through the windows, doors, and even through the chimney.

As a chaos of black wings and feathers flew around the room, the two panicked and flailed about their arms and wings respectively, trying to ward the black birds off.

"Where'd they all come from!" Ahiru could hear Autor struggling on the other side of the room.

As much as she'd like to help, there is not much she can do as a duck. Being small and laying flat on the table, she is able to hide away from the claws and beaks of the ravens darting around the room, but that is all. '_What can I do? Why is this happening?_'

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she sees a raven trying to pull Fakir's yellow quill from out of it's stand. '_That—That's Fakir's!_' And without thinking, she runs over to the raven and rams it at its side, making them both stumble over the table. Another raven, noticing this, tries to make a grab for the quill itself.

"Quack!" '_Leave that alone!_' Ahiru gets up as fast as she could and runs back. This time however, instead of aiming for the other raven, she lunges for the quill itself and grabs it with her beak.

She flies off the table with the quill and tries to get away. More ravens notice her now, and they all fly in her direction.

'_What do they want with this?_' She moves and dodges the strikes aimed at her. However, before she knew it, she had mistakenly ran to the corner of the room. She was surrounded by the ravens, and now had nowhere else to run to.

She looks up, desperate, feeling the dread of what the ravens would do to her now that she was cornered.

'_Fakir..._'

And just when she expected herself to be met with a barrage of beaks and claws, she suddenly gets a warm feeling about her. And in the blink of an eye... she changed.

Feeling a bright light shining in the room, Autor looks back and sees a young girl, wearing a ballerina outfit, enveloped in a soft glow. He notices the ravens suddenly change behavior, seemingly becoming feeble in the presence of this ethereal girl, and just as fast as they came, they fled.

The young girl, eyes closed, now opens her bright blue eyes... And as the glow about her fades, so do the feathers in her hair and her ballerina outfit, leaving behind a more normal looking girl with freckles and long ginger hair.

"What... happened-" Her eyes suddenly become large. "I- I can talk again!" She looks at her hands, and indeed, she confirms to herself, she is once again human. She also notices however, a yellow feather in her hand. It is what was once the quill, but as of now, is free of its pen tip.

Suddenly, she remembers Autor who was also in the room. "A-Autor!" She searches for him in the room, only to find him standing nearby with one hand crossed in front of him, and the other covering his eyes beneath his glasses as he looks sideways.

And he utters just one word: "Clothes."

Realizing she was actually not wearing anything, Ahiru goes beet red and runs further into the house in search of something to wear.

* * *

**Chapter 1 : Once again a time...**


	2. Birds of a Feather

_**Once upon a time, two girls had always been friends...**_

* * *

"Thank you for helping me settle in, Autor." Ahiru says as she walks across her old dorm room and opens the windows to let some fresh air in.

"You're quite welcome. With your fumbling, you would've probably knocked your own door down just trying to sweep the floor." Autor remarks, pushing his glasses up, a glare hiding his eyes behind the lenses.

"I'm not _that_ clumsy..." She puts on a pout as she grumbles a little.

It had been a little more than week now since that incident with the ravens, and school has started once again. Enrolled into the ballet class again, Ahiru moved back to the school dorms, and is now sporting the usual school uniform she had previously been accustomed to.

"Hm? Why aren't you wearing the school brooch?" Autor notices that the common yellow brooch seen pinned at the collars of all students' uniforms to be missing.

"Huh? Oh! Um... I guess I was too used to wearing my necklace back then that I hadn't realized it." Ahiru replies slightly embarrassed, moving to her trunk of clothes. She picks up the school brooch, and wears it properly.

"So, now that that is out of the way, where is the feather?" The bespectacled boy says bluntly.

"The feather?" She moves her hand to her pocket and pulls the soft yellow feather out. "What about it?"

"It's nothing really. Just make sure you don't ever lose it. You have to remember that that is the only thing keeping you human right now." And just as he finishes his sentence, the towns' clock bell rings. "Well, it's getting late, I should be on my way now. Good evening, Ahiru." And with a nod, Autor leaves the dorms.

With one last glance at the music student, Ahiru looks at the feather once more and clutches it gently in her hands.

* * *

"Ahh!" Ahiru woke up with a jolt as she heard the chime of the bells ring. "I'm late! And on the first day of school too!"

Tripping and falling all over the room she finally managed to dress herself in her uniform, and after opening the window to let the birds in, she runs out the door and into the hall. Stopping a bit in front of the doors of her friends, Pike and Lilie, she wonders if they still live in the same dorm rooms. She hasn't yet seen them since she became a human again, and couldn't help but wonder if they still knew her.

Remembering that she's going to be late, she runs downstairs and out the main door in a panic, rushing to her school.

* * *

"I'm here!" Ahiru practically bursts through the door with an immediate bow, now dressed and ready for ballet class.

"Ah, good morning. You must be the new student, Ahiru. I heard you used to study here before I became the new ballet instructor. Welcome back."

Looking up, Ahiru peers at the new teacher. It was a woman, but not quite. With ears and a tail, and soft white fur, their new teacher is unmistakably a cat.

"Since it's just the first day, I will excuse your tardiness, but only for today, alright?" The cat teacher beckons for Ahiru to sit with the rest, to which she of course complies.

"Now, once again, I bid you all good morning. For those who don't know me yet, I am the school's new ballet teacher, Ms. Cat." She addressees all her students. She was a white cat that stood on two legs. She wore normal white ballet shoes, some light pink tights and a black dress-like leotard. As a final touch to her get-up, she wore a bright pink ribbon around her neck that was tied in a bow behind her. "Some of you may also know this already, but I would let you know that I am one of the daughters of Mr. Cat, your previous instructor."

Ahiru gapes at this new teacher with fascination and can't help but smile at how Mr. Cat seems to have finally been able to settle down. Furthermore, this Ms. Cat is very pretty and seems very nice.

"Oh, and one last thing. Remember that if you don't do things right around here, I WILL punish you regardless of who you are." With a sudden change in demeanor, one could practically see the dark aura that surrounds Ms. Cat, successfully scaring every one of her students, most especially Ahiru who was not expecting that at all.

* * *

"_Sigh_. Luckily it was only the first day so we only did the basic routines. I'm too much out of practice really..." Ahiru walks out of the ballet classroom once again clad in her normal uniform. "Ah! By the way, I saw Pike and Lilie in class but haven't had the chance to speak with them. I wonder where they'd gone?" She ponders as she trots through the corridors.

Eventually, she found herself in the school courtyard where many students are having lunch or are just resting for their break before classes resume.

"Ahiru."

Almost bumping into the person, Ahiru quickly steps away in surprise as she is once again face to face with none other than the music student, "Autor!"

"You should watch where you're going or you may end up bringing down someone else with your clumsiness." He puts simply as he adjusts the books in his hands.

"S-sorry!" She grumbles. "I was just looking for someone."

"What's the matter with you!" A shout can be heard somewhere in the courtyard. And all students, couldn't help but look in the direction of two girls who appear to be having an argument.

"I know you've always been like this, but you've been acting even stranger lately!" A girl with short pink hair tied into a bun, exclaims.

"Strange? I don't know what you're talking about." The girl she was screaming at, one with blonde hair tied into pigtails with two pink ribbons, almost yawns as she replies to her friend boredly.

"Ah! Pike! Lilie!" Ahiru cries out as she runs towards the two girls, Autor following behind her with a normal walk.

"Lilie! What's wrong with you? We're friends aren't we? Why are you being like this!" Pike shouts once more.

"Would you please stop with your incessant shouting. You're embarrassing yourself, really. Ah, but that is what is good about you, isn't it? Acting the way you do, no wonder your love life is so hopeless! It really is so cute, you know." Lilie gives a soft smile as she puts one of her hands on her cheek while peering at Pike with half-lidded eyes.

Going beet red, not with embarrassment but with anger, Pike turns around and stalks off in the opposite direction, walking straight past Ahiru and Autor.

"Pike?" Ahiru looks between the two, thoroughly confused.

Lilie, shrugging, walks off on her own as well.

Choosing between the two, Ahiru runs after Pike.

* * *

"Pike! Pike! Wait, please!" She finally catches up to her in the hall as the said girl turns around to face her.

"Hm? What do you want? Who are-" Suddenly, something seems to have clicked in Pike's mind as she goes blank for a while, then wakes up with a jolt. "Ahiru! Where have you been!"

Ahiru, stopping in front of her friend, looks at her. "Oh! Umm... I, uh, had to go away for a while." She replied lamely. Autor appears behind her and she decides to change the subject. "Ah! Pike! What happened back there? Why were you and Lilie fighting?"

"Oh... that." Pike looks down. "Lilie hasn't been herself lately. I mean, I guess she's still herself... Enjoying others suffer, but... A lot more extremely now."

Ahiru stops and looks a little taken a back. "What do you mean?"

"Before, she just wishes people to fail or such... But now, its like she initiates the failure herself and verbally scorns them." She replies seriously and continues, "Recently, we had a new girl move into a dorm room near us. She was aspiring to be a ballerina too. She was a new student, but she did have talent. We took the ballet summer classes together... the three of us and some others. Lilie encouraged the girl in the way she used to do to you... But during the last few practices a week ago, for the end-of-summer performance, Lilie did something really terrible. The girl had been chosen to be the lead ballerina in the front of the stage during the intermission we were to perform at. She had worked hard and was so excited, but then Lilie started putting her down, telling her how she's going to screw up and fail her whole performance. She smiled and even said how wonderful that would be. The girl practiced even harder that night before the dance and by the time of the performance, she had worn herself out so much, she could barely move properly. She was sluggish and tired throughout the performance. She looked awful. And then, as if by some accident, Lilie bumps into her, and she quickly lost balance and fell off the stage, twisting her ankle." Pike looks up at them. "I really thought it was an accident, and told Lilie to apologize... But all she did was give me a blank stare and said '_She failed 'cause she wasn't strong enough._', and then with a smile on her face again, she went on saying how beautiful it was when the girl fell off the stage."

"But- She can't have really- Why would Lilie do that!" Ahiru says, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"I don't know! And I don't really care anymore! I tried to talk to her, but every time I do, all she'd do is point out my own failures and smile as if nothing were wrong! I'm tired of having to deal with her like this! I give up!" Pike closes her eyes as she feels the anger well up in her, and with that, she turns around and runs down the hall.

"Pike!" Ahiru tries to give chase, but seeing Pike disappear around the corner, she decided to leave her alone for now... a sad expression etched on her face.

* * *

"I don't get it... Why are all these things happening? It's like it's just one thing after another. Fakir disappears, the ravens have come back, I'm back into being a girl again... And now Pike and Lilie are fighting... Not to mention of course that Lilie is acting very strange... Oh! What should I do!"

"What you should do is be quiet...!" Autor whispers to her with a hiss.

The two were in the library. Autor had been doing his usual librarian assistant job, and Ahiru had come and visited him here after her afternoon class.

Ahiru then takes hold of a chain around her neck, as she pulls out a necklace from beneath her blouse. At the end of the chain, made into a pendant, was the yellow feather. "I wonder if Fakir's okay... I'm sure he would've thought of what to do." Moving the feather slightly in her hand, she wonders, '_Where did you go,... Fakir?_'

* * *

"Ugh. I can't believe I just did that." Pacing the streets slowly back towards the dorm, Pike murmurs to herself. " I haven't seen Ahiru in months, and then as soon as we see each other again, I run off! Sure, I'm still upset about Lilie, but that has nothing to do with Ahiru."

As she scolds herself, she suddenly brings her hand up to scratch her head. "This is all Lilie's fault! Why is she being like this lately! I'm sick of having to apologize for her or to constantly keep her in check! I am NOT her babysitter!" She speaks in frustration and kicks a piece of trash on the floor across the street.

All of a sudden, Pike doesn't realize just how dark it is already. It was sundown, but something wasn't right... Realizing, she turns around to see all the buildings' roofs covered in flocks of ravens.

"What the? Wh-what do you want! I am not in the mood!" She screams angrily at the birds.

The birds just stare at her with their crimson eyes, not making a single move and just sitting there looking down at her. Before she could say anything more, she suddenly hears a cold giggle echo through the street.

"That is a very powerful emotion you have there." The voice chuckled.

"Who was that!-" Pike whips around and was completely caught off guard as she is met with a strange girl standing before her.

She was beautiful really, with a pale complexion and dark green eyes. She had a very cold, cruel look, with black eye shadow beneath her eyes pointing outwards to emphasize each cool glare. With black lipstick, and a mass of curly blonde hair tied into a tight ponytail, the girl stood there. She was balanced on a perfect _pointe_ wrapped in black ballet shoes. To match the shoes, she wore a jet black ballerina dress that was strapped only onto her left shoulder, and a set of yellow stockings.

She took a step towards Pike, extending a hand out to her.

"You're anger is quite powerful. It is making you suffer, isn't it? Let me help you."

* * *

Ahiru stares at the feather in her hand and continues to ponder on all the things that have happened thus far. Autor, who's supposed to be closing the library now, heads over to where she was sitting.

'_There has to be a reason I've become a girl again... This must surely be because Princess Tutu is needed again._' Letting the feather dangle around her neck again, she finally decides. '_I'm going to go speak to Lilie! I'm sure I can help her!_'

And just when Autor was about to tap her shoulder, without warning, Ahiru suddenly stands up quickly. She moved so fast that as soon as she stood up, hear head collided... _**BAM!**_ ...with Autor's face.

"Owwie..." She mumbles rubbing her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Autor, glasses in one hand, and the other clutching his face. "Ah! Autor! I'm so sorry! I didn't hear you approach!"

"What on earth are you doing just standing up like that so quickly!" He says as he rubs his face and puts his glasses back on.

"I've finally decided. I'm going to go look for Lilie and find out what's really going on!" She says determinedly.

"You plan on looking for her _now_?"

"Eh?" She puts on a blank expression.

Sighing, Autor moves to the library doors and opens it and she follows him outside. "You spent the whole afternoon just to decide that. It's already night time."

Indeed, just as he said, Ahiru can't help but sweatdrop at her own neglect of the time. "Ehehehe..."

"Come, it's late. I'll walk you back to the dorm." Autor says as he locks the library doors.

"Ah! You really don't have to. You should head straight home-"

"I don't always offer such courtesy, so I suggest you take it. Besides, your dorm is on the way to my home." He smirks as he states the latter matter-of-factly. He walks on ahead as Ahiru watches him.

'_Hmph. Always so rude!_' She pouts as she catches up to the indigo haired boy.

* * *

The two walked in silence as they headed towards the dorm. Feeling the unsettling silence, Ahiru decides to maybe try and strike up some sort of conversation...

"Um, so... Autor. What do you think is going on? Like, with Lilie, and Pike. You have any idea why Lilie is acting so strange?" She starts a little forcefully, not really thinking enough on how to start.

"How should I know. How am I even to know if she's acting strange. I don't know this Lilie friend of yours." Autor replies uninterested and doesn't even bother to even glance at Ahiru. "The most I know of the girl are the rumors I've heard from other students on how they suspect the girl to be a _sadist_."

"L-Lilie is not a sadist! She's-"

Before Ahiru could finish her remark, they turn a corner only to find a strange spectacle going on.

In front of them, a little down the street, were a flock of ravens dancing around Pike who was being held up by a spiked black pillar. With her, on a black crystal pedestal, stood a blonde girl in a black dress.

"Pike!" Ahiru exclaims as she and Autor run towards the scene.

Quickly turning into Princess Tutu out of instinct, she glides over the ravens and stands before the black pillar where Pike was.

"Pike! Please open your eyes!" She pleads as she dances around the pillar.

"A...hi... ru...?" And she slowly opens her eyes.

"Pike?"

"Well, if it isn't Princess Tutu. So nice of you to join to us." The blonde girl beckons her.

"What do you want with Pike! Who are you!" Tutu demands.

"Oh, how rude. I only wanted to see her suffer a little more. I was going to release her from her suffering soon enough." The girl mockingly pouts whilst taking on a new stance a kin to the raven stance Princess Kraehe used to do.

"Ahiru!" Pike sits up and looks around in a panic. Seeing Tutu, she exclaims, "Princess Tutu?" with eyes wide.

"Why would you want to see anyone suffer?" The girl clad in white pleads as she spins on one foot clad in pink ballet shoes.

"But it's just so wonderful to see them suffer!" The girl grins as she glides down from her pedestal. "Besides, I did say I was going to _comfort_ her after wards!"

They continue their conversation as both dance around the pillar.

"But even if you were; To watch them suffer first-It isn't right!" She twirls and makes a sign of sadness.

"She's already suffering! A little more and I would've freed her from it!" A giggle. "Isn't that right, Pike?" She makes one last twirl and stops at one side of Pike, looking up at her.

"I-"

"Pike! All emotions are precious... Even when you have feelings that are hurting you, the only one who can free yourself from it is you." She too, stops at the other side of Pike.

"But-"

"Don't listen to her, if you come with me now, I can make it go away, I can make it all go away."

"-!"

"Pike!" Tutu.

"PIKE." The girl in black.

But the pink-haired girl has had enough.

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST STOP!-"

And as if by irony, Pike's world was the one that stopped.

As soon as she screamed, Pike's eyes went blank, and she collapsed as the black pillar disappeared back down into the ground.

"Pike!" Tutu catches Pike's limp body. "What's wrong! What happened!"

"She broke... How pitiful." The girl in black says with a playful grin.

Just then, Pike's chest shone a dim light and something flew out. With a quick prance forward and another one back, the girl in black takes the small red light and flies up with another prance.

"What are you doing! Give that back!" She then hands Pike's limp body to Autor, who has rushed over to them. She stands and tries to pursue the girl.

"Sorry. But maybe we can play together again some other time, Princess Tutu." And with a wink, the girl in black disappeared in a flurry of black feathers. And all Princess Tutu could do was watch.

"No...!"

* * *

**Chapter 2 : Birds of a Feather**


	3. A Prince Arrives

_**Once upon a time, a prince so loved a princess that he vowed to never again leave her...**_

* * *

Sitting in a small room in the local infirmary, Ahiru stared at the figure of Pike lying down on the stark white sheets.

'_I wasn't able to do anything... Even as Princess Tutu... Nothing._' Tears started to well up in the young girl's eyes.

Then, there was a knock on the door and a nurse steps in. "Ah, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to exit the room. I have to clean up in here and also check on the patient."

"Oh. Alright. Thank you." Ahiru complies and leaves the room.

* * *

'_Why did this have to happen to Pike?_' Ahiru sat in the library, not really noticing the book in front of her. Instead, she's found drawing circles in the hard wood of the table with her fingers. "Why?-"

_**POK!**_

"OWW!" Getting a book dropped on her head, she whips around knowing all too well who'd done it. "What was that for, Autor!"

"Those with no business in the library shouldn't use this as their sulking hang out. Furthermore, I don't know why I have to keep reminding you, but would you please learn to be more quiet in the library." Said boy berates her and moves his head to the side, looking down at her with a sideways glare.

She looks around the library to see other students in the library looking at her. Noticing her looking back, they resume what they'd previously been doing.

"_Sigh_. Yes, you're right. I know I shouldn't be sulking... But, I just really don't know what to do!" She looks up at Autor pleadingly.

Calmly, he replies. "The doctors don't know what's wrong with her. They said she was physically fine except for the fact that she had no heartbeat. It doesn't really make sense, but not all stories make sense. Especially one that we're not even sure has an author." He shrugs and takes the books on her desk to put them back in their respective shelves.

Donning a displeased expression, Ahiru walks up to Autor. "You know, it really wouldn't hurt for you to be more concerned! I know that you don't really know Pike, but you did witness what happened to her! And Fakir! ...He's missing and all you could do is shrug! I thought you were his friend!"

"We're _NOT_ friends. And I really don't know why you constantly have to bother me in the library, because as far as I know, _we're_ not friends _either_." Autor puffed as he put his index finger in front of his mouth to signal that she's being noisy again.

"But you-!"

"_OLE~!_"

And just as they heard it, a huge brown bull bursts through the library doors. Riding atop it and jumping down gracefully, was the wannabe prince known as Femio.

"Mademoiselle Ahiru! I have finally found you!" He bounds over to Ahiru as his butler fans another rain of petals about the violet haired youth.

"F-Femio?"

Handing out a rose to her, he exclaims, "I have heard you were finally back again, so I sought to meet you once more!"

"Ah, it's uhh... Nice to see you again too, Femio." Ahiru says as she shies away a little. She tries to look in Autor's direction as if pleading for a save... However, half expecting him to walk off and leave her, she was surprised to find Autor walking past her and towards Femio.

"You there-"

"Femio. My name is Femio."

"Get. OUT." Autor speaks in a low growl, glaring at the other boy through his glasses.

Femio, slightly taken a back, looks around Autor and at Ahiru. "Do you know this person, Mademoiselle? Is he with you?" He puts on a slightly hurt expression at the latter part.

"I am NOT with her. I am the library assistant, and you, are creating a ruckus in the library." Autor manages to growl, gritting his teeth, another vein popping out on his forehead.

"Ruckus? I am not here to create a ruckus!" Femio puts on a very theatrical look of hurt as he dances a little, surely enough making another vein pop in Autor's head. "I am here to spread _love_! For I am a prince who loves all!"

"I told you..." Autor, now thoroughly annoyed, was about to make a grab for Femio's collar but Ahiru decides to intervene. Running between the two, she trips and accidentally smacks the bull's behind, making the bull once again go off (running into Femio in the process), and the two exit the large library doors, Femio's butler close at their heel.

"Oops... That wasn't quite how I expected it to go." Ahiru sweatdrops, sitting on the floor.

"Hmph! At least you got rid of that nuisance." Autor, composing himself, says as he pushes his glasses up.

"You're really not a people's person, are you?"

* * *

"Oh my! I had really not been expecting that!" Femio dusts himself off as he pulls himself off the ground. The bull ran so fast that his butler was not able to keep up with him and is now nowhere in sight. Femio eventually fell off the bull, and he suspects it might still be running around somewhere.

"That Ahiru is truly such a shy mademoiselle!" He says as he whips out another rose and holds it high.

"And what is that supposed to be?" A scornful reply.

Femio looks up, to be met with one of the loveliest girls he's ever seen. She had beautiful golden hair tied into a tight ponytail behind her head, and she wore a beautiful black ballet dress matched with black shoes and yellow stockings. Looking up at where she was sitting in a tree, he muses on just how magical she looked.

"Ah! What a beauty you are, mademoiselle! Truly one to be marveled at among others!" He makes a twirl and holds up the rose towards the tree.

Looking rather disgusted, the girl stands and turns around. "I have no need for one with a heart as shallow as yours!" And with that, the girl jumps down from the tree, and disappears into the thicket of trees, with only a few black feathers left in her wake.

Femio, left alone, stood dumbfounded as he stared at where the girl disappeared off to. "What... did she mean by that?"

* * *

Ballet class; and all the students were doing their routine warm-ups and stretches. Ahiru, off to one corner by herself, does the routine by herself. She hadn't seen Lilie at all since that day in the courtyard, and with Pike in that condition, Ahiru feels like she really didn't have any friends at the moment.

Suddenly, bursting into the room, came Femio. "Sorry, I'm late!"

"Ah... so nice of you to finally join us, Femio. You've finally been advanced to this class and the first thing you do is come late." Ms. Cat scolds Femio. "Or maybe, you WANT to be punished by me!" Her aura changes again.

"Forgive me, for I have sinned. If you must punish me, do so!" And Femio goes down on his knees in front of her, striking a pose.

Suddenly getting weirded out by his response, Ms. Cat goes into fit of meowing and rubs her face furiously with her paws. "Go join the others!"

'_I guess she really is related to Mr. Cat..._' Ahiru thinks as she watched the scene from the side lines.

"Mademoiselle!"

"Urk-" She notices Femio bounding over to her.

"We are in the same class now! What a wondrous occasion!" He looks up at her happily.

"Y-yes... I suppose we are... Ehe.. he.. he..." She gives a weak laugh.

"Mademoiselle, there is something I must ask you!" Femio stares at her pleadingly.

"Eep! W-what is it?"

"Is my heart, truly... shallow?" He exclaims and tears start to well up in his eyes as he looks at her.

Caught off guard, Ahiru's foot slips from the bar, and she falls onto the floor with a large thud.

"W-Whaat!"

"Someone yesterday, someone beautiful who I had never seen before, told me my heart was shallow. Ever since that fateful meeting, I could not get her or her words out of my head. What does it mean, Mademoiselle!" He kneels on the floor and scoots closer to Ahiru, begging for an answer.

"I-I don't know... Maybe you should ask her what she meant by it." Ahiru replies lamely.

"Oh..." And Femio looks down dejectedly, looking genuinely let down.

This was certainly new. This was not the Femio she knew. He was definitely acting different. She then can't help but wonder who that girl he met was. But for now, she knew she needed to cheer Femio up.

"Uh! Femio, we have to finish our warm-ups soon, how 'bout I help you do your stretches?" She stands and smiles at the effeminate male.

"Ah! Always so clever and considerate, Mademoiselle. Thank you!" And he stood as well.

There was definitely something different with him.

* * *

"I'm telling you! Femio wasn't acting like himself! I mean, not really. There just... Seemed something different about him..." Ahiru complains as she talks to Autor in the library.

"That or he finally learned how to use those things on each side of his head." He replied, pointing to one of his ears. "Somebody finally said something that got to him, and now he's finally thinking things over. I say it was about time. That guy causes such a ruckus, we've already heard of him many times even from outside the library." And he puts another book back on its shelf, and continues pushing the trolley of books down the aisle of shelves.

"I dunno..." Ahiru takes a book from the trolley, and helps put it on its designated shelf. "It's just... I feel there may be something more to it! And I think we can find that out if we look for the girl he spoke of!" She finishes, leaning over the trolley towards Autor so she could be heard better as she's trying to keep her voice quiet for once.

"What's with the '_we_'? _You're_ the one who is thinking too deeply about it; _You_ do something about it. I have other things to attend to." He says calmly, pushing the trolley once more, making Ahiru fumble a little as she was leaning on it.

"MEANIE!" She shouts through the library catching everyone's attention.

* * *

"_Mademoiselle!_"

"What's the matter, master?" Femio's loyal butler asked the boy.

Femio, who had been taking a nap on the back of his bull, looks at his servant. "It's that girl again... The one in the black dress... She really could not escape my thoughts. Every thought, every dream, they are all of her! And for some reason... I just can't seem to get my finger around it... Is my heart truly shallow? For once, I suddenly feel like I am unsure of my feelings..."

"Young master..."

He jumps off the bull and starts walking down one of the many paths of their school courtyard.

Stopping a short while, he turns to face his butler. "I... wish to be alone for now, if you don't mind." And he turns once more and continues to walk.

And his butler and bull watch as their master walks away.

* * *

At the same time, an irritated looking Ahiru is seen stalking through the corridors.

"What is WITH that Autor! I think he's even more stubborn than Fakir!" And as soon as her thoughts drifted back to Fakir, Ahiru found herself growing silent. Holding her palm over her chest, she could feel the soft feather beneath her blouse.

Shaking her head free of her reverie, she reminds herself that now isn't the time to be thinking sad thoughts. Fakir was a strong individual and she assumes he must be fine wherever it is he's disappeared to.

She doesn't quite know if there truly is something wrong going on with Femio, but Ahiru just can't shake the feeling she has about it. Maybe Autor is right and she is thinking about it too much, but she's still going to investigate a little just in case her instincts were correct.

With that, Ahiru runs down the corridors as she continues her search. '_Don't worry, Fakir. You may not be here right now, but I'll make sure to keep everyone and this story safe while you're gone! Even if I have to do it myself!_'

* * *

Walking in silence, Femio makes his way through a small thicket of trees. He started to walk through the place he had last seen the girl. He's not sure just how long he's been walking now, and he also does not quite know where he is at the moment.

"Oh, where could she be? That mademoiselle in the black dress..." He says to no one in particular.

However, as if by chance, he stumbles into a small dark clearing, surrounded by withered trees, and grass-less ground. It is there he sees the girl in black, surrounded by numerous ravens.

"I have found you, Mademoiselle! You don't know how long I've been searching for you!" He bounds over, ignoring the spectacle of black birds.

"Oh. It's you again." She says with a hint of disgust as she turns to him.

Stopping short in front of her, he speaks once more. "Mademoiselle! Please, you must tell me! I must know what you meant by stating I had a shallow heart! It's been eating away at me since you said it!" He strikes a dramatic pose. "I can't forget it! You and your words have been etched into my mind! But why is this so! I was so sure my heart was pure!" He moves towards her and takes her hands in his. She flinches a little at the sudden contact. "I feel like I am no longer sure of anything! And this feeling, that I get whenever I remember you- What is it? I must know, for I am lost, Mademoiselle!"

"Perhaps your heart wasn't as shallow as I thought. Maybe, there is a feeling there that holds true power." The girl, with a glimmer of something new in her deep green eyes, twirls and moves away from Femio to stand before him.

Placing one foot in front, she extends her hand towards Femio.

"You are lost deep in your confusion. It is making you suffer, isn't it? Let me help you."

* * *

"Gah! Where did Femio go!" Ahiru blurts as she pulls herself through a thick bush. She ran into Femio's butler not too long ago and they had told her that he disappeared into this thicket of trees beside the school grounds. Pulling a few leaves out of her hair, she continues down further through the row of trees.

_SQUAWW!_

Alarmed and surprised, Ahiru looks up at the source of the noise.

* * *

At the same time elsewhere, Autor was looking out from the library window. He had just finished putting all the books back in place, and is taking a short break.

Suddenly noticing something weird above the small grove beside the school, Autor can't help but feel a shiver run down his spine.

"That's..."

* * *

"-A flock of ravens! What are they doing here!" Ahiru exclaims as she follows the mass of black birds in the direction they are flying.

She eventually reaches her destination, and as she feared, there was the black-clad girl once more, this time with Femio held up on a large black pillar.

Entering the clearing, the feather around her neck glows, and she turns into Princess Tutu again.

Noticing the light that came with the transformation, the girl in black brings her attention to Tutu. "Ah, Princess Tutu... You came to try and interfere again." The girl smiles while she speaks snidely.

"It's really no use, you know. You'll fail to save this boy, just as you failed to save your friend, Pike."

"Why are you doing this?" Princess Tutu takes a delicate step forward, holding her hands close to her chest. "Who are you? Why are you trying to take people's hearts away?"

"I have no obligation to answer any of your questions!" And with a graceful swoop, she lunges at Tutu, accompanied by some of the ravens in the immediate vicinity.

The ravens scratch Tutu with their claws and wings as they fly past her. "_Aahh!_"

"That's right; Suffer!"

Just then, as the cries of Tutu rung throughout the clearing, it is heard by one. Femio slowly opens his eyes, then suddenly jolts back up in attention. "Mademoiselle!"

Looking around, he sees the girl in black, and he sees another girl in a white dress being attacked by the ravens. "What's going on! Mademoiselle," He beckons to the girl in black, "What's happening!"

As he spoke and drew attention to himself, the black-clad girl turns to him, and the ravens momentarily cease their attack.

Princess Tutu, on her knees, looks up at the boy as well. "F-Femio..." And with whatever ounce of strength she has left, she stands up again.

"Mademoiselle, please! Tell me what's going on! Why is that girl being attacked by your ravens? She's terribly hurt!" He pleads.

"Ah, so many questions, but who could answer... Stay with your ignorance, you shall be rid of it soon."

"No! Femio! Don't listen to her!" And gathering her strength, Tutu takes her stance. "I know you are confused, but it doesn't mean you have to get rid of the feeling. Answers will always come to you eventually-"

"And I suppose, _you_ have answers?" The girl spins on her toes and a gust of wind and black feathers is thrown at Tutu.

As Tutu and the girl continue their fight, Femio, as lost as ever, finds himself unable to take his eyes off the girl in black. Noticing himself, he brings himself out of his stupor as something finally dawns on him. Standing up on the black pillar, he suddenly screams out: "It's _LOVE!_"

"What!"

"I finally understand, Mademoiselle. The real reason I could not forget you... It is because... I have fallen for you!"

Meanwhile, Autor finally arrives, and he rushes to Tutu's side who is down on one knee due to her injuries. "What's going on?"

"Autor!" And Tutu replies carefully, "I think... he's solved his feelings on his own..."

"Don't be silly, you fool! You are merely confused again! Do not think of such folly!" The girl in black screeches at Femio.

"But it is true! You were right. My heart was indeed shallow. Many-a time had I proclaimed my love for another... But to have been truly in love... I was not." He says with a hint of sadness. "But I see now, thanks to you, the error of my ways. And because of this, it is you who I have then fallen for." He concludes with conviction.

"But- You don't even know who I am!"

"It doesn't matter! I only know now that I love you... I do not know who you are... Or why you have done this..." He says as he gestures to the injured Tutu. "But I know that because I love you, I must free you from whatever evil it is that imprisons you!"

-And with that said, a miracle seems to happen:

Femio, suddenly getting showered in red rose petals, suddenly changes, and he is suddenly dressed in a red Princely outfit.

"I swear that I shall save you, Mademoiselle!"

"No! It can't-" Suddenly looking confused and scared, the girl in black runs off and disappears in a whirlwind of black feathers.

…

"What... just happened?" Tutu exclaims as she loses power and reverts back to Ahiru as she sits up with the help of Autor.

Slowly, Autor starts to speak, shock clearly evident on his features. "It's strange but... I think, he just... changed his role in the story out of sheer will power alone."

* * *

**Chapter 3 : A Prince Arrives**


	4. A Friend Indeed

_**Once upon a time, a Princess was all alone. She had no friends, and no help from anyone. But when her time of need grew near, a hero arrives where it was least expected...**_

* * *

Dumbfounded by the incident a few days ago, Ahiru wears a blank expression as she goes about her routine warm-ups before class. Her wounds had not been all that serious, and she is in good condition once more.

"Mademoiselle, are you all right?" Femio, who was doing his own stretches across from her, stops to ask, sounding rather concerned.

"Huh? Oh, Femio... Yes, I'm quite fine. Sorry about that."

While she tried to reassure Femio that she was indeed alright, in truth, she was anything but. Ever since she turned back into a human girl, nothing really seems to have been going well. Fakir is still nowhere to be found; Lilie as well has not been seen in a while; She had failed to save Pike; and truthfully, she wasn't the one who saved Femio either. Femio had gotten out of that situation by himself, using his own feelings and will power.

She wonders now... What was the reason of letting her become human again; Of letting her become Tutu again? If she could not even help anyone... Then what was the point?

"Ok, class. Gather round, we'll be having something different today from our usual routine." Ms. Cat announces, shortly catching Ahiru's attention away from her thoughts.

"Since the annual recital will be held in a few months, where you all know already that we'll be doing Swan Lake; We have to start auditioning for roles and start practicing. I have arranged for one of the music students to come and play the piano for us as we get started." Ms. Cat, beckons to the door. "Please, come in and introduce yourself."

As the students turn their heads to see who it is that is coming in, the door opens, and in walks a certain bespectacled boy. Glancing over the ballet students, he greets them.

"Good morning. Nice to meet you all. My name is-"

"Autor!" bellows Ahiru who had not been paying attention until he had actually stepped into the room. Autor, looking quite annoyed at having been interrupted, readies himself to retort but is stopped.

"Ahiru! Would you please not interrupt. Or do you wish to be _punished_?" Ms. Cat says with a low growl as her aura changes tone.

Ahiru, looking terrified, squeaks: "No, ma'm!"

"Good. Now, shall we begin?" She turns a happy mood again, and Autor can't help but sweatdrop at the bi-polar tendencies of the feline instructor.

* * *

"Well, that's all for today and you may all leave now-"

"Ah, Mademoiselle Ahiru! Would you like-"

"Except Ahiru."

Ms. Cat interrupts Femio in turn as she looks at Ahiru. Said girl looks up and dons a confused expression.

"You've been totally out of it and haven't been paying any attention at all today. For that, I want you to stay behind and clean the room." And with that said, Ms. Cat leaves with the other students, while Ahiru and Femio watch them go.

Ahiru, feeling a slight sense of nostalgia, looks down at the floor.

"And what is it that is bothering you now?"

Ahiru and Femio look up to see Autor fixing his music sheets over by the piano.

"Ah! Ehe... I'm sorry about a while ago." Ahiru gives a weak laugh, scratching her head a little. "Oh! But, your playing today was amazing! I think this is the first time I heard you play! You are quite the talented musicia-"

"Stop it, Ahiru." Autor interrupts her. "Always trying to seem happy-go-lucky. Enough with the charades already." He looks at her through his spectacles, almost glaringly. Ahiru is taken aback.

Femio, who had been quiet up to now, looks between the two, and decides to try and lighten the mood.

"Hey now! What's all this? Can't you see you are making the Mademoiselle uncomfortable? Besides, this isn't how friends talk to each other, right-"

"We are NOT friends!" Autor suddenly exclaims.

Ahiru, now changes her expression to a more annoyed one. "Why do you always have to be like that! Femio was only voicing his concern for me! Don't raise your voice at him!"

"Oh, and you aren't raising your voice?"

"Well-You started it! You keep going on and on about how we're not friends, or that none of the recent happenings concern you, but aren't YOU the one who first approached me about these events! Weren't you the one these past weeks who had always been there with me when something happens? I thought when you came, that day Femio was attacked, that you had come to your senses, and that I may finally have found a friend in you, but-"

"It's because I'm involved in this!"

Ahiru stops and looks at Autor. Femio seemingly shrinks into the background.

"You think I WANT to keep hanging around you! You think I WANT to be there whenever something happens! I am never there because I want to be, or because we're friends, or want to be friends, or whatever! I am there because, whether I _want_ to or _not_; I am a PART of this _story_!"

Ahiru, tears welling up in her eyes, starts to go very red in the face, and she can't help but scream:

"I HATE YOU!"

And the tears start to fall.

Not daring to look up again, Ahiru runs out the door and leaves.

* * *

"Mademoiselle! Mademoiselle Ahiru, please wait!"

Ahiru reluctantly stops running and turns around to meet Femio. "What do you want?" She manages to choke out, rubbing her eyes of tears.

"Fear not, Mademoiselle. Do not listen to that foolish boy. Even if he doesn't wish to be there at your aid, I will be there. For I am-"

"...Also part of the story."

"M-Mademoiselle...?"

"I dunno... Autor is right. It feels... like none of us would even be hanging around each other if it weren't for the story." Ahiru glances to the side, avoiding Femio's confused gaze. "We're... not friends. And we don't even really know each other well. Not you. Not Autor. We're all just caught up in this story- And I don't even know why!" And her thoughts drift back to her questions on what her role even is in the story.

"Oh, Mademoiselle..." He tries to approach her, to which she promptly took a step back.

"I- I'm sorry for saying all these things... And I'm sorry again, but... I want to be left alone for now."

And with that, she turns around again and starts to walk away. Femio watches her retreating form with a hint of sorrow.

Just as Ahiru leaves around the corner, Femio suddenly feels a dark aura behind him.

"You know. I didn't see Ahiru back in the classroom... She was supposed to be cleaning up there..."

Femio, frightened turns around slowly to meet Ms. Cat.

"If you don't wish for both of you to be punished-You better go and clean up the practice room yourself!"

"Y-Yes, Madame!"

* * *

Ahiru walks through the town quietly. She had visited Charon's house only to find he was not there. She asked some of his neighbors if perhaps they knew of his whereabouts, and they responded that he has been out on a business trip for a while now and hasn't returned yet.

She remembers Fakir talking about that during his visits to the pond, saying how ever since the previous stories' barrier was lifted, Charon had been frequently visiting other towns to do business there.

Ahiru however, can't help but wonder if maybe Charon was now stuck outside of town now that a new story has begun.

Feeling like she has no one else to turn to, Ahiru sits on a bench by the side walk. She truly does miss her friends... Pike, Lilie... Rue... Mytho... Fakir. At the last she couldn't help but bring the feather out. Holding them between her fingers, she strokes it a little as tears start to well up in her eyes once more.

"I wish you guys were here... I don't know what to do anymore... Why is all this happening...? Why did I turn back into a human...? Why did I become... Tutu again?"

She clutched onto the feather, holding it close to her as she now lets her tears fall freely.

However, unseen above the rooftops, Ahiru doesn't notice a raven watching her. Spying her a little more, it flies up and leaves.

* * *

Sitting in the ballet practice room, Autor leans over the piano, his head in his hands.

"Why did I say all those things? I didn't mean to upset her so much." Her rubs his face with one hand as his other holds his glasses.

"It's not really that I don't want any of this... It's just... I do not know my own role in this story." He looks up. "I was always there... Whenever something happens... But I've never really done anything! Even that annoying Femio was able to find his role in the story..."

And as if on cue, Femio bursts into the room, "Ah! Autor! You are still here!"

Standing up annoyed, Autor can't help but raise his voice again, "What are you doing back here!"

Femio, not at all bothered by Autor's temper, stares at him blankly. "I was sent here to clean in place of Mademoiselle Ahiru." He says simply as he raises the mop he had been holding.

"Ugh... of course." Autor turns around to gather his things. Suddenly, he is pulled by his shoulders and he is met with Femio once more.

"You must apologize to her!"

"What!"

Holding Autor firmly by the shoulders, he looks him straight in the eye. "Even before you had said those things, Mademoiselle Ahiru had already been feeling rather down! And with you saying all those things after, she must be really depressed now!"

Moving away from Femio's grasp, Autor stumbles backwards and into some of the other instruments in the corner, knocking over a trombone and tripping over a violin case. "You-!"

"No!"

Pulling Autor up, and picking up his music sheets and the violin case, Femio pushes Autor out the door.

"You will go and apologize to the Mademoiselle whether you want to or not!" Femio says as he shoves the music sheets and the violin case in Autor's hands and promptly slams the door in his face.

Fumbling a little, Autor screams after Femio: "This isn't even my violi-"

However, spying something out the window, Autor stops. Outside, on top of one of the school buildings, he could see the blonde girl in black, seemingly communicating with a raven.

Alarmed, he turns around and knocks hard on the door, "Femio! Femio, come out quick!"

"No, no! Not until you have apologized to the Mademoiselle! Besides, I have to finish cleaning the room."

"Ugh! You don't understand! The gir-" But Autor finds it useless to continue calling out. Femio had locked the door and started to sing loudly to himself... Quite horribly too, Autor might add.

"Fine!" And he picks up his music sheets and the violin case, and runs to go out of the building. "I'll just have to go look into this myself!"

* * *

Ahiru, still rather depressed, decides to head back to the dorm. Suddenly rounding a corner she didn't realize was there, she was suddenly in a small square among small and cramped buildings. Feeling the aura change, she turns around abruptly, now realizing she is surrounded by ravens.

"W-Where did you all come from!" She panics.

"Aw, poor little Ahiru. How _cute_."

Turning around, Ahiru finds herself face to face with the blonde girl in the black dress.

"H-How do you know my name...? What do you want!"

And extending a hand out to her, the girl in black speaks once more.

"Your loneliness is eating away at you. It is making you suffer, isn't it? Let me help you."

* * *

Autor, finally catching up and finding the girl in black, finds himself surprised at the spectacle before him. It was the same scene as every other victim, but what shocked him was that atop the pillar, it was none other than Ahiru who was lying there.

"Ahiru!"

"Hm?" And the girl in black turns to the newest entrant of the stage. "Well, if it isn't Princess Tutu's little four-eyed friend. Where is she? Or are you here just to watch as I take poor little Ahiru's heart?"

"I will not let you do that!" And dropping his things, Autor tries to make a run for Ahiru, only to be knocked back by a strong gust of wind and black feathers. "A-Ahiru!"

Ahiru, slowly opens her eyes, but remains lying down. "Au... tor..."

Trying to make another charge, Autor runs towards her again, only to be knocked back once more. The girl in black watches in delight.

"Ahiru! Listen to me! You have to snap out of it! You of all people cannot give in to their own emotions!" He runs, but gets knocked back all the same.

Closing her eyes, tears start to fall again... "But... There is nothing I could do... I could not save Pike... or Femio. I could not even save myself. I- I wish Fakir were here..." And she starts to cry.

"But he isn't here!" And Autor is knocked back once more and falls against the violin case and it pops open.

Ahiru opens her eyes quickly, only to close them again and cry once more.

"Fakir isn't here... And I don't know when he will be coming back..." and Autor, picking up the violin and its bow, slowly rises again. "But until he comes back... _I_ will be here."

And then, taking position, Autor starts to play the violin. The melody resonates in the square, and all seems still.

Ahiru, hearing the tune, slowly opens her eyes... Sitting up, she recognizes the piece. "This is..."

"What! What is going on?" The girl in black demands as she realizes the change in atmosphere. She tries to barrage Autor with more attacks, and even sends some ravens in.

Autor, however, stands firm. Even as more attacks come at him, he keeps playing the song.

Ahiru, snapping out of it, looks over at Autor immediately and worried. "Autor! Look out!"

He manages to dodge, just barely and continues to play with much difficulty.

"Autor... Why are you doing this?" She looks over at his injured form that refuses to stop playing. "It's useless-"

"It's true. I am useless." Autor speaks lowly, trying to concentrate on playing. "But I'm not going to give up. If this story indeed does not have an author, then it is up to us, the characters, who will decide our roles! We cannot always hope to be successful, but we will manage. We will continue on, and end this story-Together!"

And as he finishes his sentence, Ahiru's eyes grow wide, and she turns once again into Princess Tutu.

"W-What! Princess Tutu!" The girl in black exclaims, taken aback.

Gently descending from the black pillar, Tutu steps forward towards Autor. And almost as if Tutu's aura and the melody from the violin starts to mix, the ravens and the winds seem to dissipate and move away from Autor as he continues to play.

Tutu looks at Autor dearly. "I think I understand. This piece... It is '_Pas de Deux_' from Swan Lake." Taking a pose, and twirling her hands over each other above her head, and bringing one down in an inviting manner, she continues; "I... accept to dance with you." She says softly.

And with that, she starts to dance, following every stroke of Autor's bow; And moves accordingly to every tune that is emitted from the violin.

It wasn't really what could be called a _Pas de Deux_, but the harmony between her dance and his song, is something that could match any real duet between two dancers.

"This-Cannot-" And with that, the girl in black retreats back into the shadows, glaring at Princess Tutu.

After a while... Autor, who was at his limit, stops playing and falls to his knees.

"Autor!" Tutu runs over to him.

"It's alright... I'm fine."

"No. You're hurt!" She moves over him, holding his hand that still held the bow. She looks at the injuries he's sustained and wonders how he was able to still play so beautifully despite his wounds. Looking at him softly, she couldn't help but utter, "Thank you."

She takes his hand in both her own, the bow now left on the ground, and holds it close to her. "If you hadn't come, I would surely not be here now." However, she looks down again sadly. "I, on the other hand still wasn't able to do anything... I'm so sorry, Autor..."

"Don't say that."

Surprised by his gentle tone, Tutu looks up to meet Autor's face. He was tired, but still held that seriousness behind his bespectacled eyes.

"We were able to get out of that... together. I may have saved you from having your heart taken... But if you hadn't turned into Princess Tutu again, and dancing for me, I'm sure the ravens would've eventually bested me, and I wouldn't have gotten out with only these injuries." Taking his hand from hers, he moves it to her face, to wipe a tear she did not realize she shed.

Tutu, who had been staring at him widely, now couldn't help closing her eyes as she begins to laugh. And as she chuckled, she reverted back into being Ahiru again.

Autor, taking his hand back, and feeling somewhat embarrassed, stands up abruptly and fixes his glasses.

"W-We should be getting back now!" He says a little unconvincingly as he straightens himself. "Femio's probably worried about y-" And as he tries to take a step forward, he is reminded of his injuries.

Almost falling, he is surprised to see Ahiru catching him. She takes one of his arms over her shoulders, offers a smile, and helps him walk forward.

Glancing sideways, Autor tries to hide his blush, while Ahiru can't help but utter another laugh.

* * *

**Chapter 4 : A Friend Indeed**


	5. Childishness

_**Once upon a time, there was a girl who was constantly ridiculed by others. She was very sad because of this, but one day, she decided she's had enough.**_

* * *

"Aw, I was kinda hoping you'd play the violin at practice today!" Ahiru says cheerfully as she bounds over to the piano area as other students make their way back to the dressing rooms to get ready for their next class.

"I am here as a pianist. I was not requested to play the violin." Autor says curtly, pushing his glasses up, and fixing his music sheets.

Used to his attitude by now, she continues unperturbed, "But you were so good at playing the violin!"

Autor turns to look at her.

"Oh! Umm... Not that your piano playing wasn't any good! It was really great! You really are very talented!" Ahiru tries to correct herself as she waves her hands in front of her. Autor just stares at her, his expression unseen by the glare on his lenses.

"_SIGH._" A heavy sigh was heard from the side.

The two turn to see Femio sitting in the corner of the room, his back turned to them.

"What's wrong, Femio?" Ahiru inquires.

"Ignore him. He's just still upset he missed his chance to see his '_golden-haired_ _Princess_' again." Autor pushes his glasses up and rolls his eyes.

Femio quickly turns around and points an accusing finger at the other boy. "Don't patronize me! You don't know how it feels to be away from your love for so long!" And he turns his back again and continues to mope. Ahiru sweatdrops and gives a weak chuckle.

"C'mon, Ahiru. Leave him be." And Autor heads to the door.

"W-Wait! Don't leave me-"

Ignoring Femio, Autor opens the door to be surprisingly met with a short girl standing there in the way.

"Who are-"

"Ah! Young Mademoiselle Yuma! How are you?" Femio, suddenly composed, bounds over and offers the new arrival a rose.

"Oh. I'm..."

"Hello there, Yuma! My name's Ahiru. Nice to meet you!" Ahiru speaks, popping out from behind Autor and moving to greet the girl.

Said girl was slightly shorter than she. She had mustard blonde hair tied in two buns that make her look like she had cat ears. These were in turn, matched with a straight fringe of bangs, and sideburns at each side of her face that curled and fluffed at the ends. She had peachy pink eyes, and a cat-like lip. The general appearance of the girl clearly exudes one of youth and cuteness.

"Nice to meet you too, Ahiru!" The small girl said. Yuma then looks around the room, and a sad expression is suddenly cast on her face. "Is Ms. Cat no longer here?"

"You just missed her." Autor informs the girl.

"Yes, class ended just a short while ago." Ahiru adds.

"Oh..." Yuma looks down sadly.

Suddenly looking down as well, Ahiru notices that one of the girl's ankles was all bandaged up.

"What happened to your ankle?" Ahiru blurts, and the girl looks up at her. "Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry!" Ahiru flails.

"You don't know, Mademoiselle? She had an accident during the summer performance. She fell off the stage and twisted her ankle." Femio says concernedly.

Autor and Ahiru look at each other. The event sounded exactly like what Pike had told them before.

Ahiru starts, "You... went to the summer ballet classes with Pike and Lilie?"

"Ah! So, you know them, huh?" Yuma looks sideways a little, looking somewhat annoyed.

"What's the matter?" Ahiru asks, concerned by her reaction.

"Oh! Nothing!"

"Have you heard of what has happened recently?" Autor asks Yuma.

"Heard of what?" Yuma looks up.

"Pike is currently in the hospital, and Lilie... is missing." He replies sternly, looking serious.

"Lilie is missing?" She looks surprised. "I mean... I visited Pike in the hospital. I was also there a number of times cause of my ankle, you see. But- What happened to Lilie?"

"You've been away from school this whole while, Mademoiselle. That is why you don't know. Lilie hasn't been coming to school or to the dorms for quite a while now." Femio speaks.

"Hm. I see." Yuma covers her mouth with her fist, seemingly in thought. "Well! Sorry, but, I must go look for Ms. Cat now! It was nice meeting you all! Goodbye!" She speaks quickly and cheerfully, and exits the room.

The three exchange glances.

"She seemed... nice." Ahiru says, looking in the direction of the spot the girl once stood in.

"She seemed _off_. Like there wasn't quite something right with her." Autor states sounding rather harsh at no one in particular.

"You should know better than to judge a mademoiselle so! She's probably just having a hard time right now! All these crazy events- Her ankle in pain- Her heart torn asunder!" And Femio strikes some overly dramatic poses as he speaks.

'_Hehe... All that's missing now is the sprinkle of petals and the bull charging in..._' Ahiru muses to herself. She couldn't help but wonder, though... Now that she remembers it. "Hey, where's your butler, anyway? Isn't he always with you?"

"Oh! I let him go on a vacation! I am seeking to better myself in my pursuit of love! I told him to not come back until I have become a man worthy of the love of my sweet golden-haired beauty!" Femio beams and strikes another pose, holding up another rose in the air.

Ahiru spies Autor shaking his head and pinching the knot between his eyebrows in an attempt to stay calm. She nudges him a little with her elbow, catching his attention, and she flashes him a bright smile, promptly making him face sideways as he coughs and straightens himself, a faint blush on his features.

* * *

After their latest run-in with the blonde girl in black... Autor, though he still would be considered his usual self; Does seem to be a little more open now with Ahiru. He's still often at odds with Femio, mostly 'cause he finds the latter to be utterly annoying, but even that has settled down to mere quick banter between the two. At least, for the past few days it was.

However, Ahiru was now sure, that she's truly found a friend. Not just in Autor, but even in Femio. The three spent breaks together and would also walk home together. Autor would leave them early during lunch, never hanging around long; and doesn't always walk home with them due to library duties. But nonetheless, if he's not by himself, he was with them, and was surely their friend.

Now, walking home with her two newest friends, she couldn't help but smile and laugh to herself.

"What are you laughing at? Did I say something funny?" Autor speaks annoyedly.

"Oh, dear Autor, I'm sure one would chuckle at you even if you didn't say something funny. After all, with that mop of hair of yours, the typical bookworm look, and the fact you hardly ever smile save for an occasional smirk... Someone's gotta laugh at you sometime!" Femio says playfully, purposely making Autor's eyebrow twitch.

And as the two begin to bicker (more on the side of Autor since Femio is just messing with him), Ahiru can't help but smile widely, and for a while, all her troubles seem to disappear.

* * *

Ahiru, now at the dorms, walks up the stairs and into the hallway leading to where her room is located. Noticing a girl in the corridor, she recognizes her as Yuma, the small girl she had met after ballet class earlier that day.

The girl seems to be having trouble getting her luggage into her room, her suitcase looking almost bigger than the petite girl.

"Hey, Yuma! Need some help?" Ahiru approaches with a friendly smile.

"Ah! Ahiru!" The girl looks up surprised as Ahiru takes the handle of the bag from the girl and helps bring it into the room. "T-Thank you..."

"Haha, no problem at all-" However, with just that slight distraction, Ahiru's clumsiness is brought out again and she accidentally drops the bag and trips over it, successfully making the case burst open and it's contents fly out.

"Ahh!"

"Oh no! I'm so so sorry!"

The two quickly move around the room to pick up Yuma's scattered clothes and other luggage.

"I'm really so sorry, Yuma... I just wanted to help and made a mess of things instead." Ahiru says while picking up the things, looking a little frazzled and embarrassed.

"No, it's ok..." Yuma says simply gathering her things.

Almost done gathering the things, Ahiru reaches for the last object still left on the floor. "Wait, here's one more-" She picks it up and sees it is a small brown teddy bear. "This is..."

"I-It's nothing!" The small girl grabs it and stuffs it into her suitcase with the rest of her things, surprising Ahiru.

"Was that bear yours? It's very cute!" Ahiru says with a reassuring smile.

"I-It's not! It's just a childish gift someone gave me!" Yuma excuses rather lamely, blushing a little. "A-Anyway! It's getting late. Thank you for your help Ahiru! I appreciate it a lot!"

And she proceeds to push Ahiru out of the room, bidding her goodnight and closing her door.

"O... kay."

* * *

The next morning, in Ballet class, many of the girls are chatting amongst each other while waiting for said class to begin.

Amongst the noise of small conversations, they heard the door open. Expecting to see their instructor, Ms. Cat, they were surprised to see Yuma who they had not seen since the Summer performance.

"Hey, isn't that Yuma? The one who fell off the stage during the Summer performance?" One girl whispers to another.

"Yeah, I heard she twisted her ankle and hasn't been back to the school grounds since then." The other whispers back.

"Really? Is that why? That was quite some time ago. Was it that bad?"

"Nah. I heard it healed even before summer ended, but she was too much of a baby to go back to school immediately."

And the girls chuckle quietly to themselves, not knowing that the small blonde girl heard their conversation.

"I'm/We're sorry for being late!" Two voices shout as the door bursts open.

"Huh? Wha...?" Ahiru, thinking she heard an echo, jumps in surprise to see Femio right beside her.

"Ah! I thought you would be late again this morning, Mademoiselle Ahiru, so I thought to delay my entrance to make sure you wouldn't have to burst into the room alone." Femio smiles and hands her a rose.

"Err... thanks."

"Oh, but it seems that Ms. Cat is not here yet! I guess we're not late yet after all." He perks, looking around the room.

"However, if you don't get out of the way of the door, I may as well consider you late!"

And the two turn around fearfully to see Ms. Cat and her dark aura standing behind them, Autor by her side.

"S-sorry, Ma'm!"

* * *

Class had gone by pretty normal, and everything went well. Through the whole period however, Ahiru hadn't had the chance to talk to Yuma, who seemed to be looking rather upset the whole while. She figured, she would go talk to the small girl after class.

Later in the dressing room where the girls were getting changed to get ready for their regular classes...

"Hey, Yuma! How are you today?" Ahiru greets, suddenly appearing beside the shorter girl.

"Oh! Uh.. hello, Ahiru. I'm... fine." She replies quietly as she resumes to pack her things into her school bag.

"You looked like you were having a bit of trouble today, but that's okay! It's just your first day back. I heard you were quite talented, I'm sure you'll get the hang of things again in no time!" Ahiru offers encouragingly.

Glancing towards the girls who she overheard a while ago, who were heavily engrossed in their own conversation, she turns back and smiles up at Ahiru and says a quick... "Yeah, thanks."

"Hey, some of my friends and I are going off for lunch now, do you want to join us?"

"N-no thank you." And she stands up to try and leave, picking up her bag.

"But-" And before Ahiru could convince her otherwise, she notices one of the handles of Yuma's bag is caught on the side of the bench. "W-wait! Yuma you're ba-"

"Really, it's okay, Ahiru, I appreciate your offer but..."

"No! It's-"

But before Ahiru could finish what she was trying to say, she accidentally trips and stumbles, surprising Yuma who moves away to dodge the falling ginger-haired girl. However, the bag, stuck by the bench, makes her do a take and she falls over as her bag gets flung across the room, and spills its contents.

"Oh no... Not again...!" Ahiru, looking thoroughly embarrassed, stares at the mess she helped make.

"And what's this supposed to be?" One of the girls who Yuma heard talking earlier says as she picks a certain item off the floor. "A teddy bear?"

"Wow, Yuma! Aren't you a little too old to have stuffed animals? Much less bring them to school with you?" The girl's friend chimes in, looking amused.

"That's-!" And the short girl tries to make a grab for her possession. Being taller, the girl holds it out of reach.

"You really are every bit the baby others used to say about you." The girl says looking at Yuma sideways.

"Haha, yeah, even Lilie who was your friend used to say you were nothing but a little crybaby!" The other adds.

Ahiru decides to intervene. "Hey! Leave her alo-"

But before anything more could be said, Yuma grabs the toy from the girl. She looks up at the two girls, glaring at them through tear-filled peach-pink colored eyes, and promptly runs out of the room. Ahiru could do nothing but watch her retreating form disappear through the doorway.

"Yuma..."

* * *

Yuma, having ran straight from the school back to the dorms, now lied down on her bed, curled up beneath her blanket, her small stuffed bear just sitting a little ways away from her at the edge of the bed.

Peeking beneath the sheets, she spies the small brown bear. It does nothing but stare back at her with it's black beady eyes.

Throwing the sheets off herself, she grabs the toy and walks over to her window and opens it.

"I'm always treated like a child. My parents coddle me... They've been even more over-protective ever since the stage accident. And all the others at school think I'm nothing but a baby... Not knowing how much I went through just to convince my parents to allow me to go back to school and continue dancing. Always clumsy like a child. A crybaby." She looks at the bear in her hands. "Lilie used to laugh at me all the time for having this toy..." And all her thoughts return to the incident of when she fell off the stage, right as all eyes had been on her. They all looked down at her, as if she were a small helpless puppy who had strayed from its mother. Or like a butterfly whose wings got torn and was as helpless as it was when it was a mere caterpillar.

The bitter feeling of humiliation and pain... "Enough with being made fun of! And enough, I am done with childish things!" She shuts her eyes and draws her hand back, ready to throw the small toy out the window.

"Hahaha, you really are so funny, you know that?" A cackle can be heard from outside the window.

"W-who?"

Jumping down from the roof and gently onto the side of the roof to stand in front of her window, was a girl in a black ballerina dress and with blonde hair that was a shade much brighter than hers.

"W-where did you come from! Who are you!" Yuma asks, stumbling backwards and dropping the bear.

"I had been wondering when you'd return, Yuma." The girl looks at her with her cold dark green eyes, a smirk present on her pale features.

She takes a step forward and extends her hand towards the shorter girl, and begins to speak.

"The shame you feel shakes you all the way to your heart. It's making you suffer, isn't it? Let me help you."

* * *

"What exactly happened again?" Autor, who was walking at Ahiru's right, curtly asks, lugging Yuma's bag along.

"She kinda ended up forgetting her stuff in the dressing room!" Ahiru sweatdrops.

"Her whole bag? That was rather careless..." Remarks Femio, who was walking at her left. He puts his index finger on his chin and looks up in thought.

Ahiru wasn't lying. Yuma had forgotten her things, but she did not however, reveal to them the events that led the girl to do so.

It's not that she wanted to hide her own fault in the incident, but she figured that Yuma had been upset enough by what happened, and would certainly not want more people to know of it.

Leaving her two friends in the courtyard, she goes up to where Yuma's room can be found, the bag in tow. She knocks twice on the wooden door.

"Yuma? Are you here? I was told you came back here some time ago." She pauses, waiting for a reply or for the door to open. Hearing none, she continues. "I brought your bag. You kinda ended up forgetting it in the locker room. I'm really sorry about that, by the way..."

Still not hearing anything, she holds the knob and notices it isn't locked. She clears her throat and... "Are you okay?" ...opens the door warily.

She enters, but finds the room to be empty. Suddenly, she feels a certain feeling of dread that she can't explain. "What-" And out of the corner of her eye, she spots the small brown teddy bear, lying on the floor in front of the window.

She moves over to it quickly and picks it up. And as she knelt on the wooden floor, she notices that it's not just the bear who was out of place on the wooden planks. There were black feathers... spread all over the vicinity of the window.

"No-"

* * *

"Autor! Femio! We've got a problem!" Ahiru screams as she runs out of the building. Running straight and in a panic, the two are surprised when she fumbles and crashes into Autor, who in turn bumps into Femio, and all three end up in a pile on the floor.

"What the heck, Ahiru!" Autor says sitting up, rubbing his head, looking annoyed.

Ahiru, who was sprawled over Autor's lap also sits up. "We have to find Yuma! I think it's that girl in black again!"

"Girl in black!" And Femio, who was at the bottom of the pile, suddenly bolts upright, knocking the other two off of him. "I am coming my golden-haired Princess!"

"Wait just a minute, Femio. Do you even know where to start looking?" Autor says to the other boy, straightening himself and dusting himself off.

"Hm, you're right!" Femio crosses his arms and a knot can be seen between his brows.

"We have to find her before it's too late!" Ahiru bellows as she too stands up.

"We should split up. We'll cover more ground that way." Autor suggests.

"What? But what if one of us does find her, what would you do on your own?" She asks worriedly.

"We'll find someway to signal each other. Right now, time is of the essence!" He replies back.

"Then off we go! To save the little Mademoiselle, and to find my true love!"

And Autor and Ahiru can't help but sweatdrop before they all run off and go their separate ways.

* * *

Taking different routes, Ahiru runs and finds herself nearing the town square. Things are unusually quiet, and no one can be seen outside of their homes. Now that she thinks about it, she hasn't realized either just how dark it's now become. Is it that late already?

Thinking, her thoughts once again stumble into her doubts. When she finds them; will they be able to save Yuma in time? Will she be able to call the others? Will they get here on time? If they don't, will she be able to stop the girl in black by herself? She couldn't help but wish that Autor was here with her right now.

Suddenly, spying a flock of ravens in the town square, she sprints and enters.

Sure enough, there was the same spectacle. The girl in black, and a victim atop a spiked black pillar; the victim being none other than Yuma.

Quickly changing into Princess Tutu, she prances onto the scene.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my dear Princess Tutu." The girl in black turns to Princess Tutu, the common smirk on her features present. "Or should I say, _Ahiru_?"

"Stop what you're doing! Let Yuma go!"

"Oh? I know now your secret and you make no reaction? And I was about to introduce myself too." The girl says with mock-hurt.

Princess Tutu stops and looks at the other ballerina with seriousness.

"I am Princess... Lenore." The girl in black says, doing a curtsy.

"...Lenore?"

"Well! At least that's what you can call me for now!" Princess Lenore says cheerily and starts to laugh.

Princess Tutu, remembering what she has to do, diverts her attention back to Yuma while Princess Lenore is occupied with herself. "Yuma...!"

"Oh? And where are you going? We're not done with our lovely conversation yet!" Lenore prances and throws a barrage of wind and black feathers at Tutu.

Ignoring the scrapes and scratches she was receiving, Tutu continues to dance towards Yuma. "Open your eyes, Yuma." She speaks determinedly.

"I'm... ashamed of myself."

And the two look to see Yuma awake, but with a blank expression and half-lidded eyes.

"Everyone makes fun of me... Everyone thinks of me as a baby..."

"How pitiful, she is so close to breaking. Isn't it just such a lovely sight?" Princess Lenore sneers.

"Everyone makes mistakes, you needn't be ashamed! And so what if you're a bit childish still...? It's who you are. Never feel shame in being who you are." Princess Tutu says as she begins to dance around the black pillar.

"She's too far in. You'll lose her; just as you lost Pike." Lenore remarks confidently, spinning on her toes.

"You have to remember Yuma. What is it that you want? Who is it that you are?"

"What... I want? ...Who... I am?" Yuma says blinking slightly.

"Don't let what others say get to you, otherwise, you'll end up losing sight of both those things." And as Tutu dances, she begins to rise, green vines serving as her pedestal, and it starts to grow around the pillar.

"She's- gaining power!"

Reaching Yuma atop the pillar, Tutu slowly descends to meet the small girl.

"Who are you?" Yuma says sitting up right slowly, but still with a dazed look.

"I'm Princess Tutu. Here, I brought a friend with me." She smiles and holds out a small brown teddy bear.

Yuma stares at it blankly, but a shine seems to start to creep back into her eyes. "That's my..."

"Don't you think... he'd be sad too if you stopped acting like yourself?"

"I..." And Yuma blinks awake. She takes the stuffed animal from Tutu. "I...!" And she begins to cry as she holds the small item close to her. And as she does, the pillar seems to disappear into the ground.

"NO! You foiled my plan!" Princess Lenore screams as she sends another hurl of wind and feathers at Tutu.

Princess Tutu seeing the attack, grabs Yuma, and they both jump out of harms way.

"Ah!" Yuma exclaims, and seems to fall unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Princess Tutu says before bringing her attention back to Princess Lenore.

"You...! I am growing tired of your constant meddling, Princess Tutu!" And she raises her arms again for another attack-

"Hold it right there!"

And just at the right time, they see Autor and Femio enter the scene, the latter wearing the red princely outfit he once donned.

"I still don't understand how you do that." Autor murmurs, referring to Femio's transformation into a prince.

"Oh, you think too much!" Femio smiles and dismisses the other boy's skepticism. "Now, my fair and beautiful Mademoiselle! I have come here as your handsome Prince! I will save you, my love!"

And almost as if all signs of the old Femio seems to go away, he dances with perfect movement towards the girl he loves.

Princess Lenore just looks at him in disgust. "I was hoping to never encounter you again."

Taking the stance that meant 'love', Femio faces the blonde girl. "Please, Mademoiselle. You hurt me. I wish only to express my love for you!"

"Hmph. Maybe some other time." And suddenly a whirlwind of black feathers comes out of nowhere and engulfs Lenore, and disappears with her.

Femio looks on, disappointed he wasn't able to reach her with his feelings.

"Yuma!"

Femio turns back and sees Ahiru and Autor tending to the said girl.

They observe the girl. She was asleep, but she was fine. She had a few unshed tears in her closed eyes and was clutching onto her small toy dearly.

"She's alright, but we should get her back to the dorms." Autor says as he scoops up the small girl into his arms.

"Yeah." Ahiru watches on, concern etched on her face. Also, her thoughts drift back to the girl in black... Princess Lenore. She now knew her name... But who was she really? Knowing her secret was one thing, but she actually sounded as if... She were familiar with the girl, Ahiru. Why is that so?

"Oh, Ahiru, by the way..." Autor's voice pierces her thoughts.

"...Good job. I guess... you truly are Princess Tutu." Autor says, with his back turned to her, then continues walking.

Realizing what he meant, Ahiru couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

She doesn't see that Autor too was smiling.

Femio on the other hand, a little forgotten behind the group, looks back to the spot Lenore had been last and continues to stare in that direction sadly.

* * *

**Chapter 5 : Childishness**


	6. Expression

_**Once upon a time there lived three friends and a princess...**_

* * *

"You know-_urk_-I thought that by now this'd be-_ah_-a cinch-_but_-!" Ahiru, balanced on two pointe's, while holding onto the bar with one hand. Struggling to hold the position, the pain in her feet are slowly becoming unbearable.

"I-know-_erk_-what you mean,-_ur_-mademoiselle!" Femio replies, the pain evident on his face as huge beads of sweat roll down his face. Yuma could be seen behind him, also experiencing difficulty in the prolonged time they've been in that position.

"Enough with your whining, Ms. Ahiru and Mr. Femio!" Ms. Cat scolds them. "Unless, of course... _You want to be punished by having to keep this up longer than the rest of the class!_" And her aura changes into a dangerous one.

"Eeeeek! We're sorry!"

_Pok-Pok! _A knock can be heard from the door. Ms. Cat, composed again, turns her attention to the door. Ahiru sweatdrops, and Femio releases a sigh of relief.

"That must be them now." And the feline instructor opens the door to let a group of ballet students, all clad in their practice attire, in to the room.

"Class, these are your upperclassmen. They are your fellow ballet students from the upper year levels. As you all know, we have a recital coming up and we are including all of the classes from our department. As such, your class will now be mixed with your upperclassmen in practicing for the said recital. I hope you all get along, and we all work hard together. Now please, welcome them." Ms. Cat concludes gesturing to the students.

The class makes a synchronized greeting to the elder ballet students, and soon the two classes start to integrate.

"Freya! Hermia!" Ahiru bounds over to the two acquaintances she made last school year.

"Ahiru. How nice it is to see you again." The blonde gives a soft smile, as the brunette behind her nods in agreement and in greeting.

"Where have you been, Ahiru? I was certainly surprised when you left some months ago! I was quite worried!" Hermia states moving closer to Ahiru.

"Ah! Well—I—uh!" The duckish girl flails.

Giving a soft chuckle, Freya cuts in. "We're just glad to see you again Ahiru."

"Ahiru...?"

Said girl, turns around to see Yuma and Femio approaching the group.

"Ah! What lovely Mademoiselles you both are! Here, a token of my meeting such exquisite beauties!" And he hands the two older girls each their own rose, as he strikes a few over done poses.

"It's very beautiful." Says Freya kindly, if a little embarrassed-like, and Hermia only nods nervously in agreement, a sweatdrop flowing down from her forehead.

"Fu~! I thought you said you were saving as many roses as you could for a girl you really like." Yuma says snidely with a mischievous grin on her face, partially hidden by the closed fist she placed over it.

"Oh! Yuma! Is that really you?" Another person joins the small group.

"Ahh! Mai, it's you!" The small girl turns to the new arrival.

"I haven't seen you since summer. How've you been?" The girl, Mai, says with a cheerful smile.

Mai, was a mature, tomboyish looking girl. She had short black hair that shone purple, and was in a sort of flipped hairdo. Her eyes were an amber shade of brown, and her expression showed that of a strong individual. She was slightly taller than Freya, but certainly shorter than Hermia who was the tallest girl in their class.

"I've been fine. Oh! By the way, Ahiru, this is Mai. I met her through the practices for the summer performance." Yuma says, minding her manners.

"Nice to meet you, Mai! I'm Ahiru." Then she turns to Freya and Hermia as well as she gestures at Femio, remembering she had not introduced him. "Oh, and this is my friend, Femio-"

"Sacre bleu! Yet another beauty has arrived!" Femio says as he bounds over to Mai, another rose in hand. "For you, Mademoiselle!"

All of a sudden, Mai goes beet red and starts to stutter. "Ah-Well I-!"

"Heehee~, why are you so embarrassed, Mai? You used to receive flowers from a few girls in our class all the time over summer!" Yuma teases.

"T-That's-"

However, seeing how embarrassed Mai was becoming, Ahiru decides to change the subject. "Ah—Have you guys met Autor? He's a close friend of mine, and very kind! Hey, Autor! Come over here a sec!"

And everyone, including Mai who turned slowly, brought their attention to the pianist in the corner of the room.

Autor ignores Ahiru silently, not even bothering to turn around in his seat in front of the piano. He merely continues his common routine of flipping through his music sheets.

Ahiru calls out to him again, and this time he glances at her, watches her a bit... Then turns back to the piano.

"Hrrrrmph! I just wanted you to meet my friends!" Ahiru retorts sticking her tongue out at Autor's back.

Mai looks on, watching the bespectacled music student, seemingly in a daze.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Yuma asks innocently from her side.

"Oh! Err, it's nothing." She replies unconvincingly. Before Yuma could further pry, Freya can be heard speaking up.

"It's quite alright, Ahiru. Autor plays the piano for our class as well, so most of us are at least somewhat familiar with how he is." She says simply with a warm smile.

"Yes, Ahiru. It's totally fine! Now, how about we go do some of our routines. Ms. Cat is still busy sorting the students, but we will be called soon so we better be ready." Hermia adds as she moves to the bars at the side of the room, as the rest follow suit.

* * *

"Aww... I don't know why _I_ have to stay behind to clean the room again..." Ahiru complains as she lugs her mop and bucket into the room.

"Ms. Cat already told you. It was because of your whining earlier in class during your pointe practice." Autor says curtly as he gathers his things, always the last to leave the room.

"That's not fair! Then why isn't Femio made to clean as well? She heard him too!" Ahiru pouts as she swings her mop onto the floor. "Hey... Where is he anyway?"

"He went off somewhere with Yuma. Something about 'mademoiselles' or other. Yuma mostly just followed along to watch the reaction of other girls, which she finds quite amusing." The indigo haired boy finishes as he rises, and heads for the door. "Anyway, I'll be off now. Good luck with your work, Ahiru." He nods in her direction , and grabs hold of the door knob and opens the door.

"Ah!"

Surprised, the two look to see Mai standing at the doorway.

'_Deja Vu_, _much_.' Autor thinks sarcastically to himself. "'Scuse me." He says dismissively as he walks past the short haired girl and makes his way down the hall.

Ahiru watches Autor leave, only to notice that she wasn't the only one watching the strict music student. Mai, with a face that seems to hide a tinge of sadness, continues looking down the hall, her eyes being the betrayers of the true strength of emotion within.

"...Mai?" Ahiru couldn't help but say before she even realized she'd said it.

"Oh! Sorry... What was that... Ahiru, Was it?" The other girl says startled as she turns to face the redhead.

Ahiru bounds over to her, a smile once again plastered on her face. "Yup! That's me!"

"Ah, sorry about that." The girl says, her usual, confident tomboy demeanor showing again.

Ahiru watches her a short while, then speaks once more. "That Autor sure is a grump, huh?" A huge grin plastered on her face.

"W-what? I guess..." The taller girl sweatdrops. Then looks sideways awkwardly. "Hey, Ahiru? What's your... relationship... with Autor?"

"W-Whaaaat? Ah! He's-um...!" The duckish girl then composes herself again. "He's my friend of course! That's it!"

"Hahaha. Sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass you." Mai says smiling widely at Ahiru.

Ahiru smiles back cheerily, then stops a bit as she realizes something.

"Hey, do you like Autor?" Ahiru says simply.

This time, it was Mai's turn to lose her composure. "Wait-What? What-What makes you think that!" Her face was as red as a tomato and her eyes keep shifting between looking at Ahiru and looking sideways.

"Hehe. Sorry. Was I wrong?" Ahiru smiles genuinely up at Mai, almost as if the two had been friends for a long time now.

* * *

"I first noticed him when I was running some errands around school." Mai starts. "I had to deliver some documents to the music department that day..."

"As I headed down the hall to the office of the Music head, I suddenly notice the faintest sound of music. It was quiet... Far away... But something about it drew me in."

"I followed the sound 'til I came upon one of the practice rooms. The one where they had a grand piano inside."

"The sound that flowed from the cracks of the door... was... _beautiful_." Mai shifts a little at this.

"It was a very powerful piece, played with as much power as it deserved. Strong. Vigilant. Unwavering. A wondrous tune. Listening to it almost made me want to dance right then and there." She smiles a little.

"With a strong need to sate my curiosity at who could produce such a passionate melody, I opened the door ever so slightly and took a peek."

"And if it were possible for me to be more overwhelmed than I already was, then at that moment, when I saw his figure sitting at the piano; playing with such passion... It was almost as if time had stopped then, and there was nothing but him and his music..."

"I felt that passion; The strength in his playing... It was so strong I myself felt empowered. It was..."

Suddenly, Mai stops to notice herself.

"O-Oh... I'm probably not making much sense anymore, am I?" She says embarrassedly, but suddenly looks surprised to see Ahiru with a face that said she completely understood.

"No... It makes perfect sense." Ahiru holds her knees closely to her, shifting in her position that's seated on the floor. "I... can relate somewhat."

Mai watches her curiously.

"I mean, maybe our feelings and the degree of those feelings may not be completely alike... But I do understand." Ahiru looks out the window. "The passion he has when he plays... It saved me once after all." And she gazes at the trees outside, remembering that time.

"Ahiru..."

"Oh! I—I mean..! Uhh..."

"I was a little jealous actually." Mai looks down at her shoes.

"What do you mean?" Ahiru presses.

"You said a while ago that... he's a close friend of yours. I couldn't even ever talk to him... Probably the only time he ever spoke to me was that one time I was in the library and he told me to return the books I got to their designated shelves." Her amber eyes then meets the redhead's sapphire ones. "Usually that guy just ignores people when they speak to him. But even though he brushed you off a while ago... I heard you guys talking after the class ended. You must be really good friends for him to speak so casually with you, huh?"

"M-Mai..."

"Hahaha. I shouldn't have been jealous though. Just having these feelings... is enough." And Mai smiles at her brightly, but slightly blushing. "I was actually planning to confess a while ago after class."

"W-What? Does that mean I ruined it?" Ahiru stands and looks panicky.

"It's alright... I was planning to confess but... I wasn't really hoping on anything happening. I just wanted... To tell my feelings. To have been able to admit them to him. Rather than later regret never having done so." Mai says also standing up, and staring out the window.

"You're... very brave, Mai..." She says for a lack for a better word, and she can't help but gaze at the other girl admiringly.

* * *

Unbeknownst to either girls, just behind the door of the ballet room, a girl stands in the hallway. She then walks away quietly, having heard the whole conversation, a smile plastered on her face.

* * *

"Go on! He should be exiting the library by now. He always leaves the library around this time" Ahiru whispers loudly, hiding in a bush.

Mai, who was standing outside the library doors, begins to look nervous again, and her cheeks turn red.

Just as she was about to reply something to Ahiru, the doors of the library open, and the music student she admires comes into view.

"A-Autor...!"

"Hm?"

One dark haired student stares at the other.

"Oh. You're one of the girls from the ballet department. Sorry, but the library is closed now. You may return tomorrow." He says simply as he locks the doors and walks down the short set of stairs and past Mai.

"W-wait! That's not it...!" She quickly turns around to face him.

He, in turn, slowly turns around as well.

"I-" She looks down at her feet and begins to fidget. Across her, Autor looks less than amused.

_'C'mon, Mai! You can do this!'_ Ahiru cheers in her head, ever the supporting the friend.

Almost as if she heard Ahiru, she glances towards the bush Ahiru was hiding in, and could see Ahiru's encouraging smile. Composing herself, she turns back to Autor and practically blurts out;

"I really like you, Autor! You're an amazing musician! The way you play is just amazing... It's strong... Passionate... Admirable." She looks him straight in the eyes. "I..." And she falters again, noticing herself and feeling a little bashful. "I just wanted to tell you that..."

"Alright." And without saying anything more, Autor just turns around again and begins to walk away.

Both Mai and Ahiru respond in shock, one more violently than the other.

"Autor!" Ahiru screams and runs towards Autor, grabbing him by the arm and forcing him to face her. "What are you doing! Is that all you have to say after Mai here shared her heart-felt feelings to you?"

Mai on the other hand, visibly shaken, just watches the ground by her feet, feeling more and more embarrassed as Ahiru continues to berate Autor.

"It took a lot from Mai just to say those things! You should at least-"

"It doesn't concern you, Ahiru. And furthermore, seeing as this is my business, I decide how I am to respond to it." He speaks curtly as he glares at the ginger-haired girl holding his arm.

"Autor, you-!"

But before Ahiru could finish, Mai runs off in the opposite direction.

* * *

The two friends stand there in front of the library doors in silence, neither looking at the other.

Finally, it is Ahiru who breaks the silence. "What was that all about, Autor?" She looks at him angrily but pleadingly at the same time.

Still, not looking at her, his eyes are hidden by the glare of the sunset on his glasses. "It is none of your conc-"

"Yes it is!" She turns quickly to look at him. "Not only because I'm your friend, but because I am Mai's friend too! How could you be so cold to someone who thought so highly of you?"

While his expression remains hidden behind his spectacles, he visibly clenches his hand tighter around the spine of the book he was holding.

"And who am I to her, huh?" He says keeping an even voice. "Because to me, she was nothing but some girl from the ballet department whose name I didn't even know."

"That's-"

"No, Ahiru. I don't know who she is. And I don't really care to find out. I have no time for silly little girls and their admirations. Unless you've forgotten, we have more pressing concerns we should best be focused on." He at last slowly turns to look at her, the ever serious expression he wears; present on his face.

They both stare at each other quietly, a soft wind beginning to blow between them.

"Mademoiselle Ahiru! (Oh, and Autor, too)! I thought I'd find you guys here! Ready to head bac-"

Femio walks in on the scene only to be halted by the heavy atmosphere.

* * *

Mai continues to run until finally, she could no more. Stopping by the gazebo in the nearby woods beside the school, she sits quietly, looking at the darkening sky.

"What am I doing?" She says to herself quietly. "Why... Why did I have to say it? I should've known he would not return my feelings."

She slowly starts to cry. "It hurts." She grasps her chest. "It hurts too much... This rejection..."

She grits her teeth and slowly rises. "If only-If only I'd kept quiet... If I'd only kept to myself! Why did I-"

"Soooooo, pitiful. It's sad, really."

Surprised by the voice, Mai immediately looks up to see a blonde girl in a black dress balanced on her toes at the tip of the gazebo.

The girl in black descends gracefully and lands in front of the bewildered tomboy.

She takes a step forward and extends her hand towards the dark-haired girl, and begins to speak.

"You wallow in your own regret. It's making you suffer, isn't it? Let me help you."

* * *

"I thought... We finally understood each other." Ahiru says sadly, looking down, trying her best to not cry.

Autor says nothing. But behind his spectacles that hid them, his eyes secretly show a discomfort. He did not mean to upset her. Not Ahiru.

Femio, looking very uncomfortable just looks between the two, unsure if he should step in or no. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he turns to Autor with an unconvincing smile.

"You know, my dear friend, you really ought to learn to speak kinder to Mademoiselle Ahiru." He tries to make it sound jokingly, which in turn just sounded rather lame.

Ahiru and Autor still both refusing to look each other straight, continue their silence.

Femio was getting desperate. "C'mon! Have we not all become _muy_ good friends?" He says with a large smile while sweat-dropping at the same time.

This statement finally got Ahiru to look up, but still neither said a word.

Femio continues, "We've all been having a lot of fun all together, _Oui_? We should not be having these, er, misunderstandings(?) anymore! We should all just calm down, as good friends, and talk about-_RAVENS!_"

At the sudden outburst, the two finally snap out of it and look in the direction Femio was staring wide-eyed at.

As feared, there was a flock of raves looming over some ways away, above the trees of the nearby wood.

Ahiru's eyes widen as she realized, "That's the direction Mai ran in!"

* * *

Sure enough, as they arrived at the location of the flock of ravens, a familiar scenario greets them.

The blonde girl clad in black, a spiked-black pillar at the center, and this time, Mai was the one on top of it.

Ahiru and Femio both begin to transform, and in their place stood two figures clad in white and red respectively.

Princess Tutu, with white feathers in her hair, and a small gold crown a top her head, was a vision of sweet radiance. She wore a simple white dress, with a pink tutu underneath. The dress was adorned with a small set of faerie wings in the back, and three long 'tails' trailing behind her. She wore pink ballet shoes on her feet, white puffed 'sleeves' on her arms, and round gold beads around her wrists. The whole outfit is finished off with a beautiful golden pendant, in an ornate, feather-like design, hung around her neck.

Femio, has renamed himself, Prince Varten in this form; The name Varten meaning "Rose Giver". He was now adorned in a red princely outfit. He wore white tights, and red shoes, as well as a thin silver crown that wrapped around the width of his head. His top was a bright crimson with a white undershirt whose collar is made visible; The collar itself poofed around his neck like a ruff. The red top was buttoned down the middle with silver buttons, and its sleeves were large and very loose, but tight around the fore-arms. To finish the whole look off, he wore a dark red cape that he wore over his right shoulder, hung there with a silver lace. The cape itself reached to about a little past the end of his torso.

The stunning figures step into the scene.

"Fair-haired beauty!" The Prince calls out to the girl clad in black; Princess Lenore. "I have come to save you from this wickedness you writhe in. I shall free you with my love!" And he assumes the ballet stance that meant 'love' as red petals begin to dance around him.

Princess Lenore merely gives him an amused but disgusted smirk. "You never give up, do you?"

"Why must you keep doing this, Lenore?" Princess Tutu steps forward, reaching both hands forward.

"It is something I must do. And you just seem to love getting in the way. So, shall we begin as usual? Eh, _Tutu_?" The blonde assumes her stance as she says the name of her adversary with acid.

Tutu twirls her hands above her hands, then brings one down in an inviting manner that's meant to ask someone to dance. "Let's begin."

And the two begin to dance.

Both dance, spinning on their toes. Lenore begins to dance more invigoratingly and with each spin releases a sharp wind mixed with feathers, almost as if she were a small cyclone ripping apart the air.

Tutu tries to keep up, but is having trouble. However, right before Tutu completely falters, a third dancer joins the fray.

The Prince spins as well, a gust of wind and petals flying about him.

The three continue to dance as if in harmony.

Autor watches from the edge of the clearing, watching the whole thing happen. _'Something's wrong...' _He doesn't know why... But there was something different here... It was almost as if Tutu wasn't quite herself, and Varten was only half there... And Lenore was somehow aware of these.

Without being entirely sure, Autor wasn't sure what to do; But he had to warn them somehow...!

"Tutu! Varten!"

Taking this as her cue, however, Lenore suddenly breaks from the dance.

Both Autor's call and Lenore's break away surprised the two and they begin to falter in their dance and accidentally bump into each other, ending the dance.

Autor runs over to them. "What is wrong with you two! Mai is close to revealing her heart! What is with this half-hearted dancing!" He scolds them.

The two look up at Autor, but before either could retort, they hear Lenore laugh as she stands a top the pillar where Mai is. Without saying anything, she merely smirks at them as if sure of her nearing victory.

"Shouldn't you two have been stronger than Lenore now that you are both here!" Autor follows up catching their attention once more.

But without even talking, its almost as if all three of them suddenly understood what was wrong.

It doesn't matter if they were all together if they were not _united_. Not just Tutu and Varten, but Autor as well.

There was doubt in all their hearts.

Varten, who could not even get his friends to listen to him to bring them back from an argument-How could he ever hope to get the girl he loves to listen to him so he could bring her back from whatever evil clutches have her?

Tutu's specialty was always understanding the hearts of others. She'd done it time and again. She'd reach out, and she'd hold their heart close, and feel what they feel... But why could she not even do that with someone she considers a dear friend?

This time, Autor understood. This was his doing. In his years of solitude and a great lack in any sort of friendship, he didn't know how to even have friends. And now that he did have friends... He did nothing but drag them down in the selfishness he didn't know he nurtured in his heart all these years.

Mai's chest was beginning to glow.

This drew both a panic, and a strange sort of resolve in Autor.

"Help... me."

Tutu and Varten look up to see Autor, head down, shaking slightly.

"Help me... Help you."

It was quite a lame plea... Despite his extensive vocabulary and knowledge earned from reading books... It was something he wasn't sure he knew how to phrase.

But among friends, long sentences with peppered words and metaphors were unneeded.

Varten and Tutu understood. Autor had never asked anything of them-Except maybe the occasional strict plea for silence in the library-He had never asked for anything else. And they understood. It was not in Autor's character to merely ask for help... But he did, and he did for someone else.

Standing up, both move toward Autor. Tutu took his hand, and he looked up at them finally. He was met with warm smiles from both his friends, and they all nodded simultaneously.

And by magic, white vines begin to grow from underneath the three and they were all brought up to the level of the black pillar. The white vines grew into a large white platform among the trees and looked like a glowing white stage above the gazebo.

At the edge of it grew a stark white piano with ornamental white vines that served as its legs. Sitting in front of the piano, Autor began to play.

"W-What is this!" Lenore looked on seemingly alarmed.

And as Autor began his piece, Tutu and Varten began to dance in tandem.

* * *

_'This song...'_

Mai slowly opens her eyes. _'I remember this tune... This powerful song... Strong... Yet soothing...'_

As Mai slowly starts to sit up, the glow in her chest disappears.

"I-Impossible!" The girl in black screeches.

"It's working!" cries Princess Tutu.

Mai blinks slowly as the light returns to her eyes. "I remember now." She stands and starts to walk onto the white stage and begins to dance, Princess Tutu and Prince Varten dancing with her.

"It didn't matter... If my feelings would be reciprocated or no." She twirls to the right.

"It didn't matter... Even if I never got an answer." She raises her arms high and balances on her toes.

"All that mattered..." She brought her arms down over her chest and bends sideways.

"Was that I spoke these feelings of mine... Have them heard." She straightens and has a soft look on her usually tomboyish face.

"The same way, I was able to hear the feelings spoken in that song as it was played in that practice room."

And with this, Lenore's black pillar disappears, and Lenore is forced to jump onto the white stage as well.

Her landing was a little short of graceful and she landed on one knee, but not before her fall was softened by a gentle hand grasping hers. Looking up in surprise, she comes face to face with Varten who gives her a warm smile befitting a prince.

She however responds with a scowl, and pulls her hand away violently, which ends up scratching Varten's face, and she hisses, "Don't touch me!" All before jumping off the white stage backwards to disappear in a flurry of black feathers.

The prince could only watch sadly as his love once again flees from him.

The stage soon starts to grow down into the ground again, and all that is left are four students; Two boys crouched over a red headed girl holding another girl with dark hair in her arms.

* * *

The next day everything seemed to have gone back to normal. As per usual, the three are walking home together. Ahiru, Autor, and Femio.

"Mai seems to be completely back to her usual upbeat self! Yuma even commented that she seems to be even more cheery than usual!" Ahiru beams, smiling widely, walking between her two friends.

"Well, that's all and good. I'm glad to hear she's doing better alre-" But Autor is cut off.

"Hey, mister! Don't forget that you still have to apologize to poor Mai! She may be taking it pretty good now, but your meanie attitude was no good at all!" Ahiru stops to wag a finger in front of Autor's face in a childish scolding.

"Y-yeah..." Autor merely sweatdrops, his eyebrows knotting together.

Off to the side, Femio is merely humming happily to himself.

"What are you so happy about? I thought you'd be sulking again from having your 'love' run away from you again." Autor says simply, looking uninterested, but asking nonetheless.

"Oh, but yesterday was different! I was actually able to hold her hand; Our eyes met; And I even got this lovely 'love-bite' from her!" The violet-haired lad says dreamily as he gently rubs his fingers over the scratches on his face. "It is a step forward to finally reaching her heart!" And he begins to walk ahead, dancing and singing to himself in mixed up languages; saying words like, '_amore~_' and '_ti amo~_'.

Autor just looks on, shaking his head in displeasure.

"I'm happy for him."

Autor looks down to see Ahiru smiling after the lovestruck Femio. She then turns her smile to Autor and smiles widely again at him.

"I'm also happy for you, Autor." She looks at him straight.

"W-what for?" Autor asks confused, his glasses glazing over.

"It was very nice of you, to play the piano that time for Mai. I don't think we would've been able to save her without it." Her smile becomes softer.

"I..." Autor looks away, seemingly staring after Femio, who was at a bit of a distance from them already without realizing. He pushes his glasses up his nose. "I didn't do it for Mai necessarily."

He straightens and looks at Ahiru through fogged glass. "I did it, to save Mai, for those who wanted to save her." He fidgets, "I did it... to help... my... _friends_ save someone dear to them." And he looks away quickly.

He jumps a little as Ahiru jumps onto his arm, holding on tightly, and beaming brightly up at him.

Autor looks at her oddly with a faint blush on his face.

She gives him another one of her smiles and simply says, "It's about time you called us your friends out loud!"

And as Ahiru finishes her sentence, she proceeds to pull Autor by the arm as they run after Femio.

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Expression**


End file.
